Hong Kong Polytechnic University denies not rehiring social work instructors due to financial problems
Nine teachers from department of applied social sciences told their contracts would not be renewed in August
A Hong Kong university under fire for not renewing the contracts of nine instructors has denied allegations that it is facing financial problems and prioritising research over education in pursuit of better rankings.
Polytechnic University, known for its strong social work placement programme, issued a statement late Wednesday night amid mounting complaints from the nine teachers in its department of applied social sciences and their supporters from the social work sector.
The instructors were hired as students’ fieldwork supervisors, with half the workload of full-timers. They said they were told their contracts ending in August would not be renewed because the department was facing a deficit of more than HK$24 million (US$3 million) by 2020.
The news sparked accusations by the teachers that PolyU was “threatening the quality of social work placement teaching”, “exploiting” teachers and disregarding their employment rights.
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According to the instructors, the school said it could re-employ some of them as part-time supervisors, where they would be paid per hour.
While part-time supervisors can perform too, they tend to take on only about two students a semester, compared with about five for half-time instructors
In its statement, PolyU explained that the move was meant to align its practices with those of other local institutions.